Given the current multiple controversies surrounding the Indian civil services, this one about questioning the provision of entry to persons with disabilities prompted us to break our silence on the matter of disability inclusion. Let’s examine an officer’s comment recently made on a public forum.

“With all due respect to the Differently Abled. Does an Airline hire a pilot with a disability? Or would you trust a surgeon with a disability? The nature of the #AIS (IAS/IPS/IFoS) is field-work, long taxing hours, listening first hand to people’s grievances-which requires physical fitness. Why does this premier service need this Quota in the first place!”

Firstly, calling IAS a “premier service” is drawing a line of exclusion right at the entrance of the civil services, making it seem like it is only reserved for certain types or categories of people. However, it is a well-established fact that the coveted union civil services are anything but discriminatory. Reservation for people from different castes, socio-economic statuses and abilities is provided to ensure equitable opportunities of participation for the diverse aspirants, especially in the All India Services. Certain services do have eligibility criteria, which are set after a thorough understanding of the nature of the work and expectations from a candidate.

The first physically challenged person to top the UPSC exams in 2015 said, “Irony is that on medical and physical grounds, I am not eligible to be an IRS, a clerk or even a sweeper, but the rules do allow me to become an IAS (officer)”.

Next, any sort of work – “fieldwork, long taxing hours, listening first hand to people’s grievances” – requires not only “physical fitness” but also mental fitness. If one only has great physical strength, that does not imply that they have the cognitive understanding and emotional intelligence to engage in empathetic conversations and navigate through challenging situations.  A disability is not a disability but an ability to perceive and process things differently. This, in fact, gives an edge to persons with disabilities to outshine others in their performance with usual outside-of-the-box thinking.

A physically disabled UPSC coach, who herself also cleared the UPSC exams twice, said, “Despite both legs being incapacitated since childhood, a former minister in Telangana rose to the highest echelons in public life, steering several important ministries at the Centre and commanding many IAS officers.”

So rather than generalising and assuming what candidates of particular abilities, coming from any background, may or may not be able to do, it is important not to take away any opportunity and instead provide additional support to see how far they can go. The ‘quota’ is required to ensure this. However, there is no doubt that people who misuse such entrance points in the system should be punished, like in the Pune IAS case and many others that surfaced over the past month – but only after verifying the truth. Stricter measures to ensure appropriate implementation of diversity and inclusion need to be put in place.

And lastly, to answer the questions asked at the beginning of the post.

“Does an Airline hire a pilot with a disability?” – I do not know, but they certainly would ensure to not risk thousands of lives and millions of dollars by hiring the right people with the right skills, regardless of where they come from.

“Or would you trust a surgeon with a disability?” – If the surgeon has the required skills and knowledge, then why not? It depends on what the ‘disability’ is and what the case is. I would trust Shaun Murphy (reference: ‘The Good Doctor’ series following an autistic young surgeon’s professional and personal growth).